Why He Crashed the Wedding
by Vilinye
Summary: Why exactly did the Doctor come to Sarah Jane's Wedding? Spoilers for Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith. Title from the song by Busted.
1. Records, Manuals and Supernovas

Crashed the Wedding

For a rare moment, it was quiet. "Access visual record of all previous TARDIS inhabitants." The Doctor rarely indulged himself in old memories, but Jackson's comment had aroused a surprising fear: the fear of forgetting. The fear of failing to remember someone.

So he let the faces roll. The first journey with Ian and Barbara, Sarah Jane sneaking into the TARDIS…the stream of images was suddenly interrupted by a white-robed figure with a face like a child's pastel drawing.

"The Trickster!" The Doctor bolted upright and stared at the screen. "What is he doing here?"

He ran into the library and began throwing books off the shelf. "Einstein's Theories of Relativity, _ The Time Machine, Curious George Visits the Doctor—_AH! _Maintenance and Piloting of a Type 40 TARDIS According to the Rules and Customs of the High Council of Gallifrey_." He flipped through the pages. "Chameleon circuit repair…tried that, it didn't work…alternative fuel sources…ah! Discrepancies in the visual records."

_With regards to the nonlinear nature of temporal flux, it is feasible alterations in an assistant's precedent or contemporary status are replicated in visual databanks.*_

"Impossible! I saw Sarah Jane during the Medusa Cascades. And the TARDIS doesn't make mistakes." The Doctor grabbed the manual and ran to the control room. "If I remember correctly, I should be passing a supernova now." He flung open the doors. "Ah-ha! Who needs trash bins when you have supernovas?'

He tossed it out the door and watched in grim satisfaction as the manual disappeared. "Now, let's see what's up with our Sarah Jane, shall we?"

_*Due to timey-wimey balls, changes in a companion's circumstances may be reflected in the TARDIS records._


	2. Arton Echoes

Chapter Two: Artron Echoes

"So, if I set the TARDIS to lock on to the time trace, residual artron energy with echoes of sonic technology—oh, yes!" The Doctor pulled down the screen. "Meanwhile, I should look up the Pantheon of Discord. Been a long time since I heard those tales." He ran back into the library and pulled out Tales of the Toclafane. 

_The Pantheon of Discord thrives on chaos caused by the disruption of timelines. One particular member, the Trickster, bargains with those about to die, granting them life when it feeds his needs. _The TARDIS vibrated uneasily. "Now, if I cross-reference the Pantheon of Discord with Sarah's energy, maybe I can figure out why things went all wobbly there."

Grabbing the book, he ran back to the control room and pulled down the monitor. "Ealing, 13 October 2009. And that's Luke Smith. Brilliant boy, absolutely brilliant." The control room shook again. The scene on the monitor dissolved in a spray of static. "No, no, no…" For a moment he wished the TARDIS came with error messages detailing exactly what went wrong, but of course that would be too simple. "Let's try again…" The screen changed to an image of 13 Bannerman Road. "Come on…come on, old girl, this is for Sarah. Our Sarah Jane, remember her?"

For a moment, the TARDIS seemed to stabilize. Then it shook violently, throwing the Doctor halfway across the room. "Something is definitely blocking my path. Which means I really need to break through." He glanced up at the scrolling information. "Oh, she's fought him before, wonder why the Trickster's taken such an interest in her."

A new picture flashed on the screen—Sarah in a white dress, standing next to a man in a suit. Was this the Trickster's scheme? The TARDIS shook again, moaning as it tried to break through. Then it stabilized.

The Doctor ran to the door and flung it open. A clear voice floated down the hall. "We are gathered here today to witness the wedding of Miss Sarah Jane Smith and Mr. Peter Anthony Dalton…" He tightened his grip on the sonic and ran down the hall.


	3. Speak Now

He crashed through the swinging doors, taking everything in at a glance. "Stop this wedding, now!"

"What? What's going on?" Sarah Jane gasped. Murmurs ran through the crowd—"Who is that?" "I don't believe it" and an energetic "Master" from K9.

"I said stop this wedding." His low tone only affirmed the authority in his words.

At that moment, wind blew into the room, pulling hair, snatching hats. "Alert! Alert! Danger, Mistress!" K9 rolled awkwardly across the floor, spinning in the storm.

"Sarah, get away from him!" But Peter caught her arm and held on. _A good man,_ the Doctor thought. _ He cares about her safety. But he doesn't understand._

A white figure materialized through the cyclonic storm. "The Trickster!" A girl in the front row exclaimed.

"Sarah! Trickster, let her go!"

"Too late, Time Lord!" Unaffected by the wind, the Trickster strode over to the couple. "You're mine, Sarah Jane Smith, mine forever."

"Doctor," Sarah screamed.

"Sarah!" The Doctor reached for her hand, but the trio vanished from sight. He ran forward, yelling her name as a ripple washed over the crowd, emptying the seats. "Hold on!"

"D—Doctor?"

"That's me. Good to meet you in the flesh." The Doctor smiled.

"The Trickster—my mum—" Luke stammered.

"Luke, listen to me. Everything's going to be okay," Was that a lie? No, because he meant it. _Nothing _was going to stop him from finding Sarah. "I'll find Sarah, I'll bring her back, I promise. But I I need you to be strong for me, just like you were before."

"Who are you?"

"Hello, you must be Clyde!" The Doctor ran over to the girl in the pink dress, helping her up before pulling out the sonic to scan the area where Sarah had been standing. "And this is Rani."

"How did he know our names?" Clyde stared at him.

"Wait a minute—you must be—it's you, isn't it?" Rani exclaimed, quickly putting the pieces together.

"Yup, that's me." He ran to the other end of the carpet, pressing his ear to the floor. Was that a temporal echo?

"I hope you're as good as Sarah Jane says you are," Clyde's words carried a hint of what-on-earth-are-you-doing?

"You know journalists, always exaggerating, but, yeah," He stood back up. "I'm pretty amazing on a good day."

K9 rolled forward. "Master, query, where is Mistress Sarah Jane?"

"And K9!" The Doctor dropped to the floor and scratched the dog's nose. "Didya miss me? Didya miss me?"

"Repeat. Whereabouts of Sarah Jane, where is she?" That dog had been maddening sometimes, but he was absolutely right now. That was the number one question.

Clyde looked out the window. "Where are we?"

That question he could answer. "Temporal shift. Time's moved on for everyone else, but we're still here. We've been left behind." The temporal shift wasn't the big problem, though. It was what might be happening outside of it.

Questions burst from all three teens like debris from a meteor shower—"Was that the Trickster? Are we trapped? How do we get out? What about my mum and dad?" Even K9 contributed to the flurry of demands.

He pulled something from his pocket and swung it around. The noise surprised Clyde, Rani, and Luke long enough for him to answer. "Yes, that was the Trickster. Yes, we're trapped. Yes, I'm the only one who can get us out of the trap. Yes, I'm going bring Sarah Jane and your mum and dad and all the others back safely, but I can't do any of it without you."


	4. They're My Friends

"You…need us?" Clyde repeated the words slowly.

"Just like Sarah Jane needs you." He could try to do this on his own, but he did need them. They knew Sarah Jane, they understood the situation better than he did. "

"But my mum and dad and everyone else—where are they?" Rani asked again.

"Just cool with it, Rani," Luke interjected. "I watched him save the world."

"You helped me save the world, Lukey-boy." He may not be Sarah Jane's biological child, but in every way that matters—quick, clever thinking under pressure, everyday courage, and most importantly, dedication to friends—he was definitely her son. "Right, come on, we can use the TARDIS." He paused for a moment. "I assume everyone knows what a TARDIS is?"

They broke into smiles, a needed dose of levity.

"Unless you lot have really not been paying attention. Allons-y!" He led them out of the room into the hotel lobby.

The first thing that struck him was something that wasn't there. No TARDIS. "No, no. It was right there." The air hummed and throbbed. "Wait…wait." The TARDIS blurred in and out of focus like a mirage on a sunny day

"That noise, I've heard it before." Rani commented.

"That was me, trying to break through."

"Temporal schism, Master, preventing TARDIS materialization." K9 informed him.

"That's the TARDIS?" Clyde exclaimed. "It's just a wooden box!"

The Doctor ignored him. "Come on, come on, more power!" _ You can do it,_ he begged silently. But the mirage winked out of existence. "Okay," he sighed. "Got no TARDIS. "

"So we're trapped here." Rani half-asked, half-stated.

"No, cause what have I got? I've got K9," The dog chimed affirmation. "And I've got you three. And any friend of Sarah Jane Smith is a friend of mine."

"So, where exactly are we?" Clyde asked.

"Location: nowhere, no-when." K9 replied. He seemed to find it his duty to answer questions. Not that it was a bad thing.

"No-when?" Clyde repeated.

"Time's stopped." The Doctor glanced at a clock. The second hand kept flickering back and forth, like a windshield wiper.

Luke stared at a horse race that was being broadcast on a little TV. "No…it hasn't stopped. It's on a loop. Twenty-three minutes and twenty-three seconds past three o'clock."

"And we're caught inside it." The Doctor affirmed.

"But where is Sarah Jane?" Clyde asked.

"I think…" The Doctor walked forward. "She's right here." Just not now-here.

Roni tried to restate it in her own terms. "So everyone else is going forwards in time, like normal. Why has the Trickster trapped us here?"

"Oh, come on, Rani," He pulled off his brainy specs. Even in the concern of the moment, he would have found it obvious. But then again, he'd been in similar situations before.

"We're Sarah Jane's friends, all of us… her best friends."

"Which means?"

"Hostages! He can use us to get at her." Rani concluded, too excited over the realization to be disturbed by it.

"We've met the Trickster before, but we've never actually found out who he is," At least this time Clyde wasn't asking directly.

"The Trickster is a being from beyond the universe, trying to break into our world. He's an eternal exile who lives to wreak havoc." Realizing how intimidating his words sound, the Doctor changed his tone. "But we can fight him, the four of us, and we can win. "

_beep…beep…beep. _The sonic! He pulled it out of his pocket. "Ah! Time trace with just a hint of Sarah Jane…she's very close." He wouldn't mistake her for anyone else in the universe.

Rani suddenly winced. "What was that? Felt like someone just walked over my grave."

Aha! The beeping grew louder again. "She's here! Sarah!"

"Sarah _Jane_, she doesn't like being called Sarah." Rani corrected.

"She does by me." he replied absently. "K9, isolate the time trace."

_DOCTOR!_ The words came from directly in front of them. Sarah's voice.

"Temporal schism divided in two, Master." K9 reported.

"Yes, of course. We're trapped her at 3:23:23, and she's trapped too. Only in another second."

"Hold on." Clyde interrupted. "You said you'd explain later. Well, it's later. Please explain."


	5. Lonely Pantheon

"The Trickster doesn't want us helping Sarah, so he separated us. Trapped us in two different seconds."

_Doctor!_ The words came from upstairs, like the memory of a ghost.

"She's upstairs. Luke, K9, watch for the TARDIS. You see it coming back, shout. You two," he indicated Rani and Clyde. "with me, spit-spot!" The three of them took off up the stairs, feet pounding on the carpet.

Instead of a small room, they came out in the main chapel.

"How did that happen?" Rani asked.

"A spatial loop mixed up with the time loop," Clyde answered causally. The Doctor ignored their banter. Sarah was here, he knew it. But how could he reach her?

"Come on, let me find you." Just one yell, one word that he could hear. He couldn't tear down the wall at Canary Wharf, couldn't allow Donna to keep her memories, but he would rescue his Sarah Jane.

"It doesn't make sense. The Trickster's this all-powerful immortal who wants to cause chaos in the stars…and he wants Sarah Jane to get married." Rani shrugged.

The Doctor hadn't had time to mull it over. He just knew he had to stop it. He had to do a hundred things a day without understanding why. But this time, maybe it was different.

"Doctor!"

He whirled around, seeing the Trickster standing behind him. "Ah, you look better in black. Or is white the new black?" He couldn't risk letting the Trickster see how important Sarah was to him. The banter was natural, anyway.

"At last, Doctor, I can feel this moment reverberating back through the ages, the meeting of the Pantheon of Discord and the last of the Time Lords."

The Doctor walked forward, carefully nudging Rani and Clyde behind him. "I've known the legends of the Pantheon since I was a little boy. I've fought your shadows and your changelings, I never thought we'd actually met." Donna's beetle was just one case.

"And I know the legends of the Doctor," The Trickster replied. "A man of ice and fire, who walked among gods, once held the Key to Time in his hands….now he is surrounded by children."

"They're my friends. " The three words held icy calm, like a glacier about to break into the sea. "Which reminds me, you're looking a bit lonely for a Pantheon."

"I embody multitudes." The Trickster's voice felt like a millipede crawling down one's neck. "But who are you, the man who has lost everyone, to speak to me of loneliness when the Gate awaits you?"

"What do you mean?"

The Trickster laughed. "Sarah Jane Smith is my prize. You knew, Doctor. Didn't realize how wonderful she is?"

The tone in which those words were spoken roused the Doctor from his witty façade. "What do you want with her?"

"What I want with many of those I visit—her agreement. Goodbye, Doctor." The Trickster faded away.

"Her agreement…the power of words, she says I do—oh, yes!" It all made sense now! The Doctor whirled to face Rani and Clyde. "She promises to love and honor her husband, the wedding ring goes on, she's agreed to it, she's totally under the Trickster's power….forgets all about this, starts living a new life."

"Forgetting about her old one! Protecting the earth."

"And the Earth's just wide open, aliens can barge in!" Clyde concluded.

"Without Sarah, without you lot, saving the world from your attic in Ealing, the world would be chaos and destruction—meat and drink to the Trickster."

"She'll never agree."

"But she will," Rani's conclusion echoes in his mind: hostages. "because we're here."

_Vwoop…vworp…_ "TARDIS, beautiful, yes! Emergency program, protecting the pilot!" Blue arcs of light crackled across its surface.

Luke ran in from the lobby. "What's that?"

"That's pure Atron energy! TARDIS-power. We can use that to battle the Trickster." The Doctor unlocked the door and ran inside. "Inside, all of you."

The room began to shake again, pulling away. Clyde, at the front of the chain, tried to hold on, but the TARDIS dematerialized too quickly for it to work. "I'll be back!" He called, but they probably couldn't hear him. He'd never hear the end of it from Sarah if he left them there. Especially Luke.  
Instead, he pulled the levers. "Come on, come on. Break through to Sarah."


	6. Broken

He opened the door. "Sarah!"

"Doctor."

She was so beautiful, even in her confusion: the white blossom in her hair, the long dress that reminded him of Victoria's. "Can't stay long, TARDIS won't materialize. Clyde's keeping the Trickster busy for the moment—oh, those three are just brilliant!" Might be worth stopping by in a few years, seeing if any of them were interested in a trip or two.

"Doctor, what do I do? If I say no, then I'm stuck here forever. If I say yes, then I condemn the world to the Trickster. And either way, I lose." Her expression was lost, even more than the first time she stepped out of the TARDIS. "There's no way out."

"It doesn't rest with you, Sarah. Your greatest challenge. The greatest struggle you'll ever have to face."

"Tell me."

"You've fought the Trickster before. You know how he operates. How he can be defeated." He looked past her for a moment. At the man he had been avoiding.

Peter Anthony Dalton.

If things had been different, he would have been perfect for Sarah. "I know you're a good man, Peter. I'm so sorry"

"Aaaah!" Clyde screamed as he and the Trickster materialized in a flurry of Atron energy.

"I can't hold it." The TARDIS jerked away, unable to stabilize.

The TARDIS materialized in the lobby. The Doctor yanked open the door. "Come on, Luke and Rani." The three of them ran into the chapel.

Sarah Jane sat in front of the altar; Clyde's head on her lap, sobbing. Her face—he had never seen her so broken. No boldness, no cleverness—just lost, like a child.

"Doctor…oh, Doctor…" Or was it 'Dalton?'

"My Sarah Jane, you did it, the trap's broken." The room began to spin. "We're all going home."

He stood in the lobby outside the TARDIS.

"Speak now or forever hold your peace."

He couldn't go in, not now. He'd take the quick way. She wouldn't cry in public, anyway. The Doctor walked into the TARDIS and entered the coordinates for 13 Bannerman Road.

"What do you take me for, Sarah? I just thought I'd go the quick way." He looked around the attic. "Oh, I like it in here."

"Can we have a look?" Rani exclaimed.

"What, inside the TARDIS? My TARDIS?" He grinned and stepped aside. "Of course you can!"

The three ran inside, staring at the lofty ceiling and the pillar with calls of "Wow!" "Beautiful!" and "Transcendental dimensions!"

Sarah followed them inside. She had changed out of her dress into an old sweater and pants. "You came all that way for me?"

"You're so important. Not just to me." He wished she could see that. "The Trickster wanted to end your story, but it goes on. The things you've done, Sarah, they're pretty impressive, but, oh, the things you're gonna do."

"The future." Luke's eyes lit up. "How about we could go for a ride?"  
"Or back to, to the dinosaurs, yeah?" Clyde suggested.

" Another planet?"

"No way!" Sarah Jane interrupted. "For one thing, you were grounded by the Judoon, and your parents would never forgive me."

Rani and the boys filed out, understanding the implicate dismissal.

Sarah Jane looked up at him. "Is this the last time I'm ever going to see you?"

He wished he could give her an answer. A firm, definitive answer. But all these hints were being dropped—and he wasn't sure what they meant. " I don't know. I hope not."

" Bye Doctor. Until next time."

"Don't forget me, Sarah Jane," His fourth self had told her that, before dropping her off on the wrong side of the country. And she hadn't.

"No one's ever going to forget you," she replied.

_And I won't forget you either._ he thought. _ My Sarah Jane._


End file.
